Posted : Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:08:25 GMT
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Haitian grandfather Jean- Pierre Roy finished 99th and last in men's giant slalom qualifying, almost a minute behind the winner, and missed the cut to compete in Friday's world championship race.
Roy, 47, clocked 3 minutes 10.58 seconds in his first race at the worlds, while Bulgarian qualifying winner Nikola Chongarov took 2:13.70 minutes on Thursday.
Under rules of the governing body FIS, the 50 top-ranked skiers in the world are directly entered along with the best 25 skiers from qualifying.
Based on past results, another 25 skiers are chosen from nations who have no athlete among the 75.
Roy did not have sufficient results to get into the main draw this way as Luxembourg got the last spot.
Race director Guenter Hujara told coaches on Thursday that they should carefully consider whether to send less experienced athletes on the tough Kandahar course.
Qualifying was held on another hill."Maybe the challenge of the course is beyond some athletes," Hujara warned.
Roy, the first athlete from Haiti at ski worlds, had openly admitted he was scared of the icy and steep Kandahar conditions. But he will get a second chance on Saturday, when qualifying takes place for Sunday's slalom.
Posted by Earth Times Staff
